what down south city would be most similar to chicago?? (movies, living)

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by It'sAutomatic

I think you're overstating the crime in Chicago and underestimating it in some of these Southern cities.

Yep. In homicide rate, Atlanta and Miami both rank ahead of Chicago, and Memphis isn't far behind. New Orleans, of course, ranks way ahead.

United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Yep. In homicide rate, Atlanta and Miami both rank ahead of Chicago, and Memphis isn't far behind. New Orleans, of course, ranks way ahead.

United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wow. It's funny how the media paints a picture how Chicago is the worst for murder and what not in the US. I mean it's bad, but not the worst.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Wow. It's funny how the media paints a picture how Chicago is the worst for murder and what not in the US. I mean it's bad, but not the worst.

Yep. Chicago is bad, but unfortunately a lot of the U.S. is bad for homicides. (I won't turn this into another gun thread, but let's just say we're, uh, a "unique" country like that. I don't think most Americans realize how relatively safer most of the rest of the world is.) What makes Chicago so bad compared to other U.S. cities is not homicide rate, but total number of homicides, since the cities with higher rates all have smaller populations.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Sure, but it depends on what you're doing and whatever. I have been to some of those neighborhoods, but realistically unless you live in the area, how much of a reason is there to truly go there? Honest question. I can think of a few food places in some of those neighborhoods I want to try, but outside of that? I don't have a single reason to even visit them in the first place, and I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people outside of that are in the same boat. So yes, in that regard, the places which I DO visit in Chicago are not horribly dangerous. There are some areas I go to from time to time that are shady, but nothing I would be afraid to step foot in.

It's nice that you wouldn't be afraid to "step foot in" many of these neighborhoods. But that's a different proposition than telling someone looking to move to the city that all but 8 or so community areas are "perfectly safe." By any rational standard, that claim is straight-up BS.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Yep. Chicago is bad, but unfortunately a lot of the U.S. is bad for homicides. (I won't turn this into another gun thread, but let's just say we're, uh, a "unique" country like that. I don't think most Americans realize how relatively safer most of the rest of the world is.) What makes Chicago so bad compared to other U.S. cities is not homicide rate, but total number of homicides, since the cities with higher rates all have smaller populations.

Hah, yes. Good thing though we aren't South Africa huh? Yeah it's funny. Earlier this year when I was in the middle east (Turkey), some people in my building were like "whew..man ....be safe over there." It's kind of one of those things where you want to tell them it's way safer than a lot of big cities here and the worst thing on average you have to worry about is a guy dropping a shoe shine brush, you reaching down to pick it up, and him squirting your shoes, and then you feeling obligated to pay him for it. It's ridiculous how people here think some other countries must be teeming with crime or what not.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Drover

It's nice that you wouldn't be afraid to "step foot in" many of these neighborhoods. But that's a different proposition than telling someone looking to move to the city that all but 8 or so community areas are "perfectly safe." By any rational standard, that claim is straight-up BS.

I wouldn't say it's "perfectly safe" (I used "quite safe" instead, which I still contend in many neighborhoods outside of the notorious ones, it is quite safe (obviously there are some others not mentioned that are less than safe but not ridiculously dangerous)) but it's a lot safer than the OP thinks it is. The point is that the entire city is not a warzone, and it's not full of bullets being sprayed about, and rampant robberies or armed thefts/robberies. If you take the areas outside of the "Greater Austin Area", "Greater Englewood Area", and "Greater Roseland Area", it's no worse than average LA, NYC, etc.

While it's not "perfectly safe", IMO outside of those main areas (and maybe a few other areas) it's safe enough where someone wanting to live in a city can comfortably do so if they learn the street smarts associated with living in a large city.

[Drover]

OK, so where's our disagreement?

[DoneWithDallas]

If you don't want dry you need to steer clear of west texas. Lubbock, midland, Odessa, Amarillo but these towns aren't what you're looking for. Born and raised in Dallas I hate Houston. Theres very nice suburbs of Houston though. We have our super humid days and some that aren't so bad but it can get very humid. It's not just Chicago that has crime, it's everywhere. Chicago just has that stigma. Look what happened in Connecticut, in an area that was essentially crime less.

The south is not like it is in movies and books. Maybe in parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia but don't expect everyone to be this way. Southern gentlemen do exist but they're going to be a rarity in the city. I can't say they don't exist because that's where I found my boyfriend but he's from a small West Texas town that is like the movies. To me Dallas has a bit of an attitude as does Houston, I find the people nicer in Chicago. As a woman, regardless of color, Chicago is not a bad city for a single female. It can be bad for anyone who's in the wrong place at the wrong time but as a white female I'm extremely comfortable in Chicago. I'm home alone a lot because my boyfriend travels a lot back to Texas for work and I'm fine taking my dogs out alone at night.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Drover

OK, so where's our disagreement?

Yeah I guess I was just saying it depends on your habits and where you go. For some people in the city, Chicago is very dangerous because they either live, work, or volunteer or whatever in some dangerous neighborhoods. For others, they never leave certain areas which have a lot lower crime rate, so it's "pretty safe" in their eyes. Just a way of saying that not all of Chicago is a warzone and many people actually do live in pretty safe areas while many others do live in very dangerous ones and there's definitely very differing opinions depending on who you're to ask.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by DoneWithDallas

It can be bad for anyone who's in the wrong place at the wrong time but as a white female I'm extremely comfortable in Chicago. I'm home alone a lot because my boyfriend travels a lot back to Texas for work and I'm fine taking my dogs out alone at night.

So you ended up moving here afterall huh? Hope you're enjoying it!